


Amnesty

by santanico



Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (2012)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-19
Updated: 2012-08-19
Packaged: 2017-11-12 11:45:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/490539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/santanico/pseuds/santanico
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Natasha goes to Pepper for a little help. Pepper is, in the end, willing to grant her request.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Amnesty

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little fic for practice. Possibly set post-Avengers movie in some slightly altered reality for my convenience. Didn't really care much for incorporating canon, but don't really care. Girls have friendships/relationships/exist outside of their male companions!

“You shouldn’t be here.”

It isn’t that Pepper’s voice actually shakes – it does more than that, in fact – but she knows there’s definitely something a little quivering about the sound, something not so stable. Natasha recognizes it too as she shifts in her chair, lifts one leg over the other, and smiles.

“Don’t you want me to?”

Pepper knows by now that it’s an act – it’s Natasha’s way of getting under someone’s skin, and the truth is that Pepper could be anyone. But right now the look Natasha is giving her tells a completely different story. It tells a story of subtle seduction and wicked tricks hiding in breast pockets and in the backs of cleverly heeled boots.

Natasha isn’t after sex. Pepper isn’t really sure what she’s after, in any case. To conquer, to deceive, to twist, to manipulate, to spin. It could be any of those things, any combination of those things or it could be something completely different.

Pepper’s fists clench subconsciously and she only notices when she sees Natasha’s eyes dart between her hands before resting on Pepper’s gaze. “You don’t need to be nervous.” Natasha drags a finger over the desk before gripping the edge as she stands. “You’re a strong woman.”

Pepper isn’t sure what that means. She unclenches her hands. She isn’t sure she wants to find out, either.

“You don’t think we’re a good pair?” This time something is altered in Natasha’s tone, almost an air of uncertainty; as if she is really asking, as if it’s a real question and not rhetoric meant to send shivers down Pepper’s spine. “I think we work…well, together. You’re smart.”

Pepper’s eyes dart down to the table and then back to Natasha. “Do you want something from me?” she asks slowly, and this time her voice holds steady and she sounds confident. Natasha doesn’t look surprised, but her eyes widen just slightly and her lips turn up as if she’s pleased. 

“Like I said. Smart, strong. You’ve got something important about you, Pepper.” It’s odd for Natasha to call her by her first name – she usually keeps it steadily and conveniently professional, works it so she’s in control and has the upper hand. “I’m on your team, you know. We both want the same things.” Natasha does her fair share of turning, leaning her neck out to get close to Pepper. She’s very obviously flirting and flirting with intent – where she’s going instead exactly something Pepper knows, but she has ideas fluttering around in her head.

“And what would that be?” Pepper’s voice stays steady.

“Safety. Freedom.” This time Natasha’s words come out more curtly. She nods and runs fingers through her hair, pushing it back loosely. “These are things that you can provide me with.”

“Really?” Pepper is genuinely surprised. “Me? Not Tony?”

Natasha rolls her eyes and the mood has changed completely, turned into something lighter. “Do you think Mr. Stark has much time for me in the first place?” Natasha drawls sarcastically, shaking her head. “I helped save the world with him a couple of times and believe me, he’s busy now. He’d rather hang out in his little hideout with Banner for days than talk to me.”

Pepper finds herself genuinely smiling. She loves Tony and Tony loves her, but yes – he can get a bit distracted and lose track of time. “He does love his science,” she says lightly, then flicks her eyes back to Natasha. “You still haven’t explained.”

It’s odd, the fingers on her chin, tilting her face up. Pepper doesn’t flinch but her instincts tell her to twitch away. Instead she holds Natasha’s gaze and keeps her eyes open.

“Despite what Stark says, I’m still not really…welcome here. In this country. I may have basically saved the entire world as we know it…” She trails off and shrugs. “But looks like making me safe and welcomed? It’s on a government to do list. No one really cares as long as I’m not stirring up any kind of trouble…or anything at all, for that matter.”

“And how can I help?” Pepper asks as Natasha slides a perfectly manicured finger over her jaw.

“You can delete me from the system. You’re smart, like I said. As a tack. You can erase my most recent troubling files and I can start over. Easy as anything. It’ll be like I don’t even exist. I’ll be brand new.” Natasha is smiling – not like she thinks her plan is perfect, or even as if she thinks her plan will actually work. It’s one of those trustworthy smiles that Pepper notes look different on different people. Some people seem nervous when they smile, when they put their lives in someone else’s hands – Natasha looks totally confident, and now she’s leaned in so close that Pepper can smell the buttery lotion under her dress and the slight scent of strawberry shampoo. At the very least, it is a good combination.

“There aren’t many people I trust.”

Pepper looks at Natasha for a short moment before she trains her eyes back on her Mac. Though she is playing a little hard to get by not giving Natasha a direct and quick answer, Natasha has done her research and she’s right. If Pepper wanted to, she could erase Natasha from every system – in the United States, at least.

She decides to let that piece of information slide. “I can’t protect you from other countries.”

Natasha’s right eyebrow arches, but it’s not surprise at what Pepper is telling her – it’s surprise that Pepper _is_ telling her. “I didn’t really think…” She trails off and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “So I’m right?” She’s just checking to be careful. “You could do it?”

“Yes. I have the power to, in simple terms…” Pepper opens a program and watches intently as it loads before beginning to type code. Natasha’s eyes are trained not on the screen but on Pepper’s hand. “To erase you. To grant you pardon. Whatever you like best.”

“It will keep me safe. At least – at least for a while.” There isn’t hesitation in Natasha’s voice, exactly. It’s something more like surprised uncertainty, not quite a lack of trust. The words don’t quite waver (Pepper’s almost positive that Natasha couldn’t get her voice to waver convincingly anyway). Then she says, “Thank you,” and Pepper’s beliefs are torn away from her.

It’s then that Pepper realizes that Natasha had been sitting on the very edge of the desk, her dress riding up her thighs just slightly. She slides off and straightens herself out, stands tall and clicks her heels carefully as if checking to make sure she can still stand up tall. Despite the conversation they just had – and despite the fact that Pepper’s hands are still clacking away at computer keys as she deletes the appropriate information before she destroys it completely – Natasha still looks full and sure of herself. At least beyond the eyes.

It could be trust.


End file.
